OSMOND — Osmond Community School will welcome a new face to the administration team this year. Paige Parsons, originally from Coon Rapids, IA, will be the new K-6 principal.
"I'm actually from Iowa - I hope Osmond does not hold that against me!” she laughed.
Ms. Parsons grew up in the small town of Coon Rapids, and graduated from Coon Rapids High School. She then did her undergrad studies in K-12 vocal music at Dana College.
She taught music for several years in Hastings Public Schools.
"I fell in love with school systems work, so Positive Behavioral Inter ventions and Supports (PBIS) and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) was a big part of my time in Hastings,” she said.
She then went to Iowa and taught for a couple of years there before going
home and teaching K-12 vocal music in Coon Rapids. That's when she de - cided to really do her principal work.
“So previous to that I did my masters through UNK in music ed, and then went back and did instructional leader - ship," she explained. "During my time in Coon Rapids, I was a teacher-leader. I would work with new staff members coming in, help with new initiatives, and ultimately found my first position in Laurel for their principal position.”
Parsons was in Laurel for six years, doing K-4 work there.
"I'm really proud of that work. I started with a district that struggled in reading and behavior, and by the time I exited, we were kind of a model school in the surrounding area, of getting support for those needs,” she said.
She then did a stint in Vermillion, SD, for a year.
"I wanted to try a larger district, PAIGE PARSONS JOINS OSMOND SCHOOL
just to gain more experience with diversity and other initiatives,” she commented. “That was a tough year — not a lot of support in the building. High needs behavior; I kind of got to a point where I knew I wanted to come back to Nebraska. I just really appreciated the services and support that we have here in Nebraska schools. It’s quite evident in South Dakota that they don’t have the same pieces that we have here at play — a large lack of funding.”
Ms. Parsons explained that her significant other lives in Norfolk, so she knew she wanted to get back to Nebraska. She was offered a position at Northeast Community College as their director of disability services and did that for a year.
“I just wanted to see what life is like outside of K-12. I found that I really miss the day-to-day operations of school, working with students and working with staff,” she explained. “That’s why I appreciate being able to come to Osmond and being a part of that again. It’s very meaningful work, and I was really missing that piece.”
Paige said that, when she looks back and reflects, leadership at the K-12 level is where she wants to be, pretty definitively now.
“I enjoy that, but along with that, I’m a huge advocate for those with disabilities, especially in public schools. I have three kids — a set of triplets — and all three of mine are on the autism spectrum. So they’ve really been my backbone for growth. I’ve learned a lot in being their mom, in fighting for equity for other students in schools.”
Ms. Parsons explained that the reason she chose to come here is that Osmond has a reputation of being family-centered.
“Not just families in the community, but the school district is very family-based, and you don’t get that everywhere. Sometimes people show up, they do their job, they go home. But, as long as I worked in Laurel, people raved about Osmond’s community and the culture that they have inside of the school. Along with that, the teacher leadership really drew me in. That’s what I loved during the interview process, was talking to teachers. They wear so many different hats there, and not once did I get the sense that they’re forced to wear the hat, or they’re upset about it. It’s very ‘we do what’s best for kids’ driven, and I really liked that piece of it.”
Teacher leadership seems to be prioritized in Osmond, she added, and that aligns with what she believes. She said she believes that teachers need to be a part of the change and the decision-making in the school.
As far as her leadership role in Osmond, she explains that she’s not a “come in and overhaul” person. She relates it to inviting herself into someone’s home and becoming a part of their family, and said she would hate if someone ran into her house and said “we have to change the drapes and paint the walls.”
She plans to do a lot of refinement of initiatives and things Osmond already has, in order to really learn and understand where the district needs to go next.
“I’m going to try and embed pieces that maybe haven’t had a chance to grow yet,” she continued. “One area is community and parent engagement — how can we get our parents to come in and be a part of school functions? Does Osmond have a community where we can have a parent-teacher organization? Or how can we promote outreach to show what we’re doing inside, and make it kind of a pathway so families can take it home and do it at home, too. So I don’t foresee a lot of changes, it's just a refinement of things that we’ve got going well, and then opportunities for growth, especially communication with families.”
Mrs. Parsons has 13-year-old triplet boys who are going into eighth grade: Tiernan, Myles and Liam. “They are very into video games and YouTube. They love animals. We don’t do a lot of sports, but they’re very artistic. All of them play in the band and they sing. And on the side, we like to do theater together.”
Her significant other is Ken, a PE teacher for Norfolk Public Schools. He also coaches high school football and basketball.
As far as things the family does together, they are very musical and have done things with the community theater in Norfolk. Paige is also in a classic rock cover band, Reinvented Wheels.
"It's a five-piece ensemble; we do classic rock, some country, and in the summertime that’s where you’ll find us on the weekends," Paige ex plained. “We’re usually in Yankton, and we have the Wayne County Fair coming up.”
When a gig in Osmond was suggested, she said, “That would be awesome!”
For right now, Ms. Parsons said she will commute from Norfolk.
"It's been tricky to find a district for my kids and their needs and Norfolk’s been the best place so far, so that’s my plan right now,” Paige said. “Sometimes when you have certain needs, it’s hard to disrupt that. Nothing to do with the community or not wanting to be a part of the community; it’s mostly for my kids. I look forward to embedding myself in the community, and finding things to be a part of, and getting my family over here. I’m hoping that down the road, maybe an acreage opens up; I’d be open to moving.”
Ms. Parsons first impressions of Osmond are that it is cozy and inviting.
“It’s very people-centered. I had an interview for a para position today and that was my initial reaction: man, everyone is so welcoming. I stopped in at the convenience store to get something — very kind people there. They asked why I was here and I told them why, and they said ‘you’ll love Osmond.’ And laid-back. You don’t have to be somebody you’re not. I don’t feel like I have to be overly professional. I can be myself. I enjoy that about this community.”
Paige said she will be at back-toschool night, and looks forward to meeting families there. She will be working with the administration team, so if anyone in the community needs support, filling out forms or back-to- school or Powerschool things, she hopes to make herself available a couple evenings, for families who need help in filling out all the pa perwork.
Her day-to-day schedule will depend on the day, she said. Her goal is to be in classrooms as much as she can. She says she is a huge proponent of observations and helping with small groups, and being hands-on wherever she is needed.
“I love recess duty and lunchroom duty because that’s where I build connections,” Ms. Parsons continued.
"So I don't sit in the office very much.
I just go where I’m needed and take care of business where I’m needed, but find time to celebrate kids, too."
